according to the pentagon, more than 6,400 american service members have been killed. more than 50,000 have returned home wounded. 1,500 of them without an arm or a leg. tens of thousands of soldiers are suffering from posttraumatic stress disorder. and in many cases, the trauma of war has become too unbearable for returning veterans. in fact, according to a recent report, more than 6,400 veterans kill themselves each year, which amounts to 18 every day. these statistics can get lost, especially as many here at home remain relatively immune to the challenges of war. during the world war ii era, for example, about 12% of americans had served in combat. today, according to the pew research center, that figure is under 1%. i'm going to bring back in david wood, a pulitzer prize-winning reporter for the "huffington post." you've been doing some reporting in this area, particularly with regard to overhauls, in our veterans department. tell us about that. >> you know, the va has a bad image. i'm not sure why that is. it's the gigantic department of veterans affairs. spends a